Feeding mechanism for wire-fence machines.



. V. REID.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR WIRE FENCE MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24-1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I Patented Oct. 9, 1917.

W. V. REID.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR WIRE FENCE MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1917.

1,242,595. Patented Oct. 9,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

TED snares PATENT orsion,

WALTER V. REID, 0F RICHMOND, INDIANA ASSIGNOR TO IPETTIS A. REID, OF

RICHMOND, INDIANA.

FEEDING MECHANISM Fen IRE-FENCE MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 24;, 1917. Serial No. 157,094. I

To all whom it may] concern: 3

Be it known that I, WALTER V. REID, a citizen'of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of l/Vayne' and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanisms for WireFence Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to bea-full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to mechanism for feeding wire and other flexible material longitudinally, and more particularly to wire fabric weaving machines used for making wire fences, wherein the stay wire is fed longitudinally or endwise across a series of strandwires into position for the action of a series of loop-forming and twisting devices and associated mechanisms, whereby loops are formed in the stay Wire and wrapped around the strand wires at pre determined distances apart as the strand wires are drawn intermittently through the machine.

The object of my invention is to provide a novel and efiicient feed mechanism of the character referred to whereby the wire from which the stays are to be formed, or other flexible material, may be fed to .the wire working machine automatically from the coil of wire longitudinally or endwise 1n desired lengths to form alternately long and short stay lengths. A further object is to provide a feed mechanism of the character referred to composed of few parts compactly arranged and adapted to be easily removed and replaced or repaired when worn or broken, and which at the same time shall be simple in construction, inexpensive in manufacture and reliable and durable in practical use.

The invention will first be hereinafter more particularlydescribed, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as a part of this specification, and thenpointed out in the claims at the end of the description. I

In said drawings, wherein I have illus trated two different forms offeed mechanism each adapted to feed 'onelengtli'during the operation of one cycle and a different lengthduring the next cycle of move- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a feed mechanism embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of another form or modification; i

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the cam used for shiftingthe stay wire guiding means shown inFig. 1 or the segmental feed roll shown in Fig. 2, so as to adapt the mechanism to feed wire or other flexible material longitudinally alternately in long and short lengths; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the feed roll composed of unequal segments. Referring to said drawings, in which th same reference letters are used to denote corresponding parts in different views, the letter A may denote'the machine frame on which the feed mechanism is mounted. The letters 13, C and D denote, respectively, a power shaft, the'cam shaft and a countershaft'journaled in said'frame. When revolved at the same speed as the time shaft of the machineto which the material is being fed the power shaft may be an extension of said time shaft and journaled or not, as may be necessary, in-the frame of the feed mechanism. The counter-shaft D may be journaled in suitable bearings bolted or otherwise secured to the machine frame, as

shown, parallel with the'power shaft. The

feed roll drive shaft E extends-above the machine frame in which it is j ournaled and carries a bevel pinion or'gear wheel in mesh with asimilar bevel pinion or gear wheel on the shaft D, which may be driven by means of a chain F extending from a sprocket wheel on'the power shaft B to a similar sprocket wheel on the counter-shaft, while the shaft C isdriven by a drive chain G extending from a sprocket wheel on the power shaft B around a larger sprocket wheel on the cam shaft C. Said sprocket wheels are so proportioned and the movement so timed as to impart the desired rotary movement to the feed rolls and thedesired reciprocating movement to the wire guidingv means or the feed-roll shifting Patented Oct. 9, 1917. I

means, for feeding alternately material in different lengths, as hereinafter described. H and H denote a pair of feed rolls. which are arranged in slightly separated relation and fixed to the shaft E so as to revolve therewith, being held apart by means of a spacing plate or flange h, on one roll fitting against or upon the other roll so as to pro vide what may be termed a neutral space between the two rolls for a purpose herein after stated. Each of the rolls H, H has a peripheral portion thereof cut away, as shown in Fig. 4:, to form unequal segments or contact surfaces of different lengths to adapt one segment and the co-acting feed roll to feed a greater length than the'other segment. The feed rolls 1, T are also arranged in slightly separated relation adjacent the segments H and H and have therebetween a neutral space i arranged in the plane of the neutral space h between the rolls H, H the peripheries of the co-acting feed rolls being normally separated sufiiciently for the passage therebetween of the wire or other material that is being fed longitudinally through the machine by means of said rolls. On the shaft C is fixed a cam K on which the lower end of a reciprocating bar L or a friction roller on the lower end of said bar may rest, to be operated thereby. Said bar L carries at its upper end a small feed wire guide or tube M which receives and guides the, stay wire longitudinally through the machine, between one or the other of the segments and the coaeting feed roll. The bar L may be support ed and guided in its reciprocatory movements in eyes or sockets a, n on the projecting ends of brackets N and N ,-which may be bolted or otherwise secured to the machine frame, as shown. A coiled orother suitable spring 0, placed on the bar L between the bracket N and a collar 0 on said bar L, tends to force said bar downwardly and hold the friction device or roller on the lower end thereof in engagement with the actuating cam K. The collar 0 may be secured on the bar L by means of a set screw to adapt it to be adjusted for varying the pressure of the spring. The rollers l, I, or equivalent rolling means, may be mounted on a stub shaft which has its bearings in a socket formed integrally with or secured to a lever P, which is pivotally mounted on the machine frame, conveniently by means of ears or lugs on. the tubular part of the lever P, apertured to receive a pivot belt or pin 7) engaging registering apertures in similar lugs projecting from the machine frame. The tube or socket on the lever P may be formed integrally with a depending portion or extension of the longer arm P of the lever P, and to said longer arm is connected at its lower end one end of a coiled or other suitable spring Q, the other end of which may be adjustably secured to the machine frame by means of an eye-bolt g passing through a hole in a bracket on the machine frame and having a nut screwed thereon. for adjusting the tension of the spring which serves to hold the lever P in contact with an adjusting screw 00 carried by a bracket X pro ecting from the machine frame, as shown, whereby the working faces or peripheries of the feed rolls are prevented from coming into contact and are kept at the desired distance apart to permit the passage of the feed wire between the peripheral surfaces of the adjacent feed rolls and adapt the latter to grip and hold the wire therebetween with sufiicient pressure to feed the required length as the rolls revolve, The cam K is constructed with a peripheral projection which engages the lower end of the movable bar L, or the friction roller thereon, and raises said bar sufliciently to bring the stay wire centrally between the peripheries of the uppermost feed rolls, that 1s, between the roll I and the segment H, and hold the wire through the wire guiding means carried by the bar L in such position until a sufficient number of revolutions of the feed rolls has been made to feed the desired length, whereupon the spring 0 will force the bar L downwardly so as to bring its lower end into engagement with the arcshaped portion or cam surface 70 of the cam K at one side of the boss 70 and at the same time bring the wire guiding means M and feed wire into the piano of the neutral spaces between the adjacent pairs of feed rolls where the wire is held until the loopforming and wrapping devices have attached the previously fed stay to the strand wires, and thereupon, the strand wires being drawn through the machine the length of a stay space, the bar L will be further depressed by the spring O, bringing its lower end or the roller thereon into engagement with the recessed portion 762 of the cam K, which brings the wire guiding -moans M centrally of the two lowermost feed rolls, and the feed wire being clamped therebetwecn, as the rollers are caused to revolve, another and shorter stay length will be fed, and as the rotation of the cam is continued the bar L will be caused to engage the arc-shaped portion 70 of the cam K and thereby raise the rod L sufficiently to bring the wire guiding means M int-o alinement with the neutral space between the feed rolls, where it will be held for a sufficient period of time to permit the application of a previously fed stay or stay length, and thereupon the bar L will be again raised by the boss 70 on the cam K, so as to bring the feed wire and guiding means into operative relation to the uppermost feed rolls, and so on, so as to intermittently feed the material alternately in long and short lengths, the length fed'de? pending upon the length of the contact surface of the segment with which the adjacent co-acting feed roll is engaged. .A-gear wheel R on the shaft-E in mesh with a pinion R on thestub shaft which carries the feed rolls 1, I may be used for imparting simultaneous rotary movement to the; two pairs of rolls when the shaft E is revolved:

In the form shown in Fig. 2 of the draw? ings, instead of the rollingmeans shown in Fig. 1, a. single feedroll I is employed, being arranged normally opposite the neutral space between the adjacent feed rolls H and H and the pinion R on the stub shaft which engages the gear R on-the driving shaft E is provided with teeth of sufficient length to permit a limited 'vertical or forward and back movement of the gear It without disengaging the driving gear and pinion, and the rolling means adjacent the segmentalfeed roll is supported and spring-pressed toward the segmental feed rolls inthe same manner as described with reference to the rollingmeans and associated parts shown in Fig. 1, but instead of the reciprocating bar L carrying the wire guiding means M, a reciprocatory or forward and back movement is imparted to the segmental feed rolls by means of a pivotally mounted bell-crank lever S, the longer pendant arm 8 of which is connected at or near its lower end with a coiled or other suitable. spring T, the other end of which is preferably connected to an eye bolt adjustably secured to the machine frame in the same manner as the spring Q, in Fig. 1, so that the tension of the, spring may be varied to vary the pressure contact on'the feed wire. The short arm 8 of the lever S is bifurcated or forked, and the forked ends thereof are provided with openended slots to receive studs or pintles u, projecting in opposite directions from a divided yoke U, which is fitted in a groove provided therefor by means of spaced flanges on a sleeve E which is slidably mounted upon the shaft E and causedto revolvetherewith by means of a spline and groove connection or a key on theshaft en-.

gaging a groove on the interior of the sleeve and extending longitudinally thereof to per mit the sleeve to slide on while revolving with the shaft; the feed rolls H and 'H being secured to said sleeve and movable therewith, together withthe spur wheel or gear R to the hub of which the feed rolls H and H are rigidly secured. The long arm of the lever S carries a friction roller 8 (indicated in dotted lines) arranged to bear upon and be actuated by the cam K as the cam shaft revolves to raise and lower the segmental feed rolls in the same manner that the reciprocating bar L is raised and lowered, so that by the rocking movements and so on, so as to feed alternately long and I shortlengths of wire or other'material', the length'of feed being determined by the eX- tent of peripheral contact between the segment and the co-acting feed roll. i Suitable guiding means for the material being fed can bemounted upon a bracket or fixed part of the machine frame to guide the material to the feed rolls and guiding means to receive the material-that is being fed can also be mounted'upon ,a bracket or other fixed part of the-machine frame on the opposite side of the feed rolls, if desired. When feeding a stay feed wireto a fence making machine it may be and usually is desirable to pass thev wire through a wire straightener, such as shown in Patent No. 1,160,089, granted Reid, Reid and Kelley, November 9, 1915, having twoseries of grooved rolls mounted in different planes so that the wire maybe drawn between the two sets of rolls and straightened; andsuch wire straightener may be ,mounted :on a shelf or bracket cast integrally with or secured to the machine frame in suchmanner that the straightener so mounted may serve as one guide for guiding the wire to the feed rolls.v A tubular guide such as shown in said patent may also be mounted upon the fence "machine and extended close upto the feedrolls to receive the wire as fed by the rolls. 1

I It-will be understood of course that the same result might be accomplished by imparting; a reciprocatory movement to the single feed roll, instead of the segments, and that'the required movement may be imparted to the feed roll shafts and cam shaft by other means, than sprocket wheels and chains, as ,for instance, by bevel or spur gearing, and that'if the machine with which this feeding mechanism is to be used has shafts'properly timed, the frame design of the feed mechanism can be changed tosuit the positions of such shafts when extended, or the feed roll drive shaft E or E can be directly connected to one of .the machine;

Bid

designed and adapted especially for use upon wire fence making machines, it is obviously adapted for use in feeding flexible material to other machines, for instance, for feeding strip material to punch presses, or other machinery, in either unequal or. equal lengths, and it will be understood that the invention is not restricted in its application to wire fence making machines.

It should be borne in mind that the shifting of the stay feed wire sidewise by the means shown in Fig. l, or the shifting of the feed rolls sidewise by the means shown in Fig. 2, for the purpose of bringing the stay feed wire into a neutral position between the feed rolls or into position to effect the infeed of the wire longitudinally, takes place while the cut away portion of the larger roll or segment is passing the smaller roll, and the feed wire may be held in the neutral position) between the feed rolls while the latter are making one or more revolutions, the period of time it is so held, depending upon the amount of idle time wanted between successive feeds.

'My invention also contemplates the use of a single pair of rolls for feeding the same lengths of wire successively or different lengths alternately. To feed the same lengths successively, the rolls H and I or H and I are omitted and an actuating cam used similar to the cam K but without the recess K1 and in such case the length of the working face would depend upon the number of revolutions required to feed the required length of wire, while the length of the faces 70 and Z0 would depend upon the number of idle turns of the rolls required. I may feed alternately different lengths of wire by means of a single pair of rolls providing the lengths to be fed are multiples of what the segment roll will feed during one revolution. For instance, if one length requires one 'turn and the other length requires two, three or four turns, or if the first length requires two turns and the second length requires three or four turns, the working face 70 of the cam K should be made the length necessary to hold the Wire in the plane of the rolls during the required number of revolutions of the rolls for the first length while-for the second length the cam would be provided with another raised portion like the part 70 instead of the recess 76 and of sufiicient length to hold the wire in the plane of the rolls for the required number of turns.

Various other changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not desire to be limited to the specific construction illustrated and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a feed mechanism of the character described, means for feeding flexible material longitudinally alternately in long and short lengths, comprising a revoluble shaft carrying a pair of feed rolls spaced apart, adjacent rolling means arranged to co-act with said pair of rolls to feed alternately a long and a short length, guiding means and means for changing the position of said guiding means relatively to said rolls whereby the material is brought alternately between the peripheries of one of said pair of rolls and said rolling means.

2. Mechanism for feeding wire or other flexible material longitudinally alternately in long and short lengths, comprising a pair of feed rolls arranged in slightly separated relation, a smaller pair of rolls arranged in slightly separated relation with the periphery of each adjacent the periphery of one of the larger pair of rolls, means for guiding the material between the peripheral portions of adjacent rolls, and means for shifting said guiding means so as to cause the material to be gripped and fed first by one and then by another of the larger rolls and a co-acting smaller roll.

3. In combination, a revoluble shaft carrying a pair of feed rolls arranged in slightly separated relation, a stub shaft carrying another pair of feed rolls arranged in slightly separated relation with their peripheries adjacent the peripheries of the largerrolls, means for revolving the larger and smaller pairs of rolls in opposite directions, means for yieldingly forcing the smaller feed rolls toward the larger rolls, means for guiding a wire longitudinally between the peripheries of the two pairs of rolls, and means for shifting said guiding means so as to bring the material to be fed alternately between the peripheries of one of the larger and one of the smaller rolls and then between the peripheries of the other two rolls.

4. In combination, a revoluble shaft carrying a feed roll composed of unequal segments separated to provide an intervening neutral space, adjacent feed rolls arranged in slightly separated relation beside said segments, means for guiding a wire longitudinally between the peripheries of the two pairs of rolls, means for revolving said rolls, and means for shifting said guiding means so that the material will be fed first between the larger segment and one of the smaller rolls and then between the smaller segment and the other small roll, and means for revolving said rolls.

5. In combination, a revoluble shaft carrying a feed roll composed of unequal segments separated to provide an intervening neutral space, adjacent feedfrolls arrangedin slightly separated relation beside, said two pairs of rolls, means for revolving said rolls, and'means for shlfting said guiding means so that the materialjwill be fed first.

between the larger-segment andoneof the smaller rolls and then between the smaller segment and the other small -roll, means for revolving sald rolls, and pressure exertlng means for holding the material between the peripheral portions of the active feed rolls.

6. In a wire fabric weaving machine, means for automatically feeding alternately a long and a short length of wire endwise, comprising a revoluble feed roll composed of unequal segments arranged in slightly separated relation so as to provide an intervening neutral space, a pair of revoluble feed rolls arranged in slightly separated relation adjacent the first mentioned pair of rolls with their peripheries slightly sepa rated therefrom, means for revolving said rolls, pressure exerting means for forcing the peripheries of one pair of rolls toward the peripheries of the other pair, means for guiding a wire longitudinally between the peripheries of the two pairs of rolls, and means whereby said guiding means is brought alternately into position for the material to pass first between the peripheries of one of the segments and an adjacent feed roll and then between the peripheries of the other segment and adjacent feed roll, so as to feed material in different lengths.

7. In a wire fabric weaving machine, means for automatically feeding alternately a long and a short length of wire longitudinally or endwise, comprising a revoluble shaft carrying a pair of unequal segments arranged in slightly separated relation to provide an'intervening neutral space, rolling means beside said segments adapted to c o-act alternately therewith so as to feed material alternately in different lengths, a driving shaft and means associated therewith for revolving said segments and rolling means, including a cam and a reciprocatory device actuated by said cam for bringing the wire alternately into position for the action of one of the segments and an adjacent feed roll and then into position for the action of another segment and an adjacent feed roll.

8. In a wire fabric weaving machine, a revoluble shaft carrying a pair of feed rolls composed of unequal segments arranged in slightly separated relation so as to provide an intervening neutral space, a stub shaft carrying a pair of feed rolls arranged in slightly separated relation beside said segments so as to provide a neutral space in the plane of the neutral space between the segmental rolls, a, reciprocating bar carrying I means for. guiding a wire lengthwise between-the peripheries o'fthe segmentsand adjacent feedrolls, means for revolving the two pairs of rolls,'and means for yieldingly forcingone pair of rolls toward the other pair, together withmeansfor shifting said guiding means. so as: to cause one-of the seg-.

ments and an adjacent feed roll to feed a given length' of wire and thenanother seg ment and another feed roll to feed a different length of wire.

9. Mechanism for feeding wire and other flexible material longitudinally alternately in comparatively long and short lengths,

comprising a revoluble shaft carrying a pair of feed rolls composedof unequal segments arranged in slightly separated relation so as to provide an intervening neutral space, rolling means adjacent said segments, and means whereby said rolling means is caused to operate alternately with said segments so as to feed material alternately in different lengths.

10. Mechanism for feeding longitudinally wire and other flexible material alternately in different lengths, comprising a pair of revolubly mounted feed rolls composed of unequal segments arranged in slightly septween the peripheries of said segments and smaller rolls, a slidably mounted bar carry- 7 ing said guiding means, a cam operating on said bar to move said guiding means alternately into position to cause first one segment and then the other to co-act with one of said smaller rolls in feeding the desired length, means for holding said bar in engagem'ent with said cam, means acting on said lever for yieldingly forcing the smaller rolls carried thereby toward said segments, and a stop to limit such movement.

12. In combination, a pair of feed rolls and co-acting rolling means for feeding endwise a feed wire or other material; said pair of rolls being slightly separated to provide a neutral space, wire guiding means, and means for shifting the feed wire sidewise back and forth into said neutral space and between said rolling means and the periphery of one of said pair of rolls.

13. In a feeding device of the character operative relation to said feed roll and codescribed, a feed roll and c-o-a'cting rolling acting rolling means. 111, means whereby wire or other material In testimony whereof I alliX my signaplaced thereb'etw'een may be fed lengthwise ture in the presence of two witnesses.

by the rotation of said feed 1-011 and rolling WALTER V. REID. means, a feed-wire guide and means for Witnesses: V

shifting the position of said guide relatively THOMAS E. KINSEY,

to said feed roll alternately into and out of EMMET E. SHERER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissidnei of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

